National 9/11 health Program Stopped in Its Tracks, NY Delegation Demands Immediate Answers

Press Release

New York, NY - Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), and Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Vito Fossella (R-NY) today demanded answers from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt on why his agency suddenly terminated its Request for Contracts to start a World Trade Center Business Process Center (full text of delegation letter to Leavitt below). The Business Process Center would have created the first federally funded national program to provide treatment for sick 9/11 responders who reside outside the New York metropolitan area. Currently, no such national treatment program exists, and if private funding runs out sick responders from around the country would be forced to travel to the New York City area to seek diagnosis and treatment.

"It's appalling the Administration would choose the weeks before Christmas to slap thousands of sick 9/11 responders with this shocking news," said Maloney. "Brave responders from around our country have been counting on this program to finally get the health care they need and deserve."

"For far too long, the Administration has played games with the health needs of the brave men and women who toiled at Ground Zero. To pull the rug out from workers, whether they are from New York or otherwise, is simply unjustified and unfair," said Schumer.

"Following the devastation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, thousands of responders came from all over the country to help New York in its time of need. Many of them are now suffering from illnesses as a direct result and it is our turn to make sure they receive the care they need. Withdrawing the request for proposals prior to the deadline effectively halts our planning to provide coordinated, comprehensive, federally funded treatment for responders outside of the New York City area," said Clinton. "For those suffering from illnesses related to the aftermath of the attacks, time is of the essence and we simply cannot afford any additional delays in establishing a national federally funded treatment program. I strongly urge HHS to take all necessary steps to ensure that the people who selflessly responded in wake of the 9/11 tragedies have access to critically needed care."

"People came from every state in the nation to aide in the massive rescue and recovery effort at Ground Zero, and put their health at risk in doing so," said Nadler. "The World Trade Center Business Process Center is a crucial piece in providing health care to the thousands of people across the country whose health was affected by 9/11. We have a moral obligation to the living victims of 9/11, and I urge the Administration to honor its commitment and move forward with this program."

"The news that HHS has pulled the plug on the World Trade Center National Business Center marks a sad chapter in our efforts to secure a full federal commitment to those people who are sick as a result f their work on 9/11. These questions now need to be answered: what will the alternative be? And what will the federal commitment be to these workers and volunteers? I cannot understand why when it is known that more centralized data on sick 9/11 workers nationwide is needed that they would pull the plug on the center that would have provided that. My colleagues and I will continue to fight for those who have become sick as a direct result of working at ground zero, regardless of where they live," said Fossella.

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